Category Archives: Archive

Announcing our 2015 Partners in Conservation grants!

The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) awards $739,322 through its 2015 Partners in Conservation (PIC) grants for conservation and environmental education projects.

We received 34 PIC applications this year, representing projects in each of five grant program areas: restoration and monitoring, stormwater management and urban landscaping, urban gardens and sustainable agriculture, environmental education, and equitable access to conservation benefits. The PIC grant program funds projects through a competitive process in order to support the efforts that are most closely aligned with the EMSWCD’s strategic priorities.

This year, the EMSWCD Board of Directors awarded 24 grants, including two multi-year PIC Plus grants. EMSWCD provides partial funding for most of these projects, with a minimum 1-1 match for all grant amounts over $10,000. EMSWCD’s PIC funding for 2015 will leverage more than $2 million in additional support! A wide variety of projects were funded this year, from a project to restore over 100 acres in the Mirror Lake floodplain to another project that will establish a new community garden at the Floyd Light Middle School in East Portland.

Read the full press release here (PDF), which includes the full list of 24 grant projects and details about each. Learn more about our annual and monthly grants here.

Nadaka Nature Park & Garden – Grand Opening Celebration

Join us to celebrate the official opening of Nadaka Nature Park & Garden in Gresham this Saturday, April 4th! The new park features community gardens, a nature-based play area and picnic shelter, as well as a 10-acre forest! You can meet Audubon Society of Portland’s education birds, learn from Slough School, and help spread seeds on the new eco-lawn. A nature play expert from ONPLAY will also be on hand to demonstrate the ways the nature play area can be used, and there will be refreshments and fun activities for the whole family! Watch the video below to learn more, and read more after the break.

Continue reading →

Soil school 2015

The health of your soil determines the health of everything growing in it – the food you eat and the crops you produce! Learn all about how to care for your soil at Soil School 2015! The event will be a day packed full of information for small farmers, landscapers, gardeners, grounds managers and anyone else who wants to improve their soil.

When: Saturday, April 4, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Registration 8:00-8:30 a.m.)
Where: PCC Rock Creek Event Center, 17705 NW Springville Road, Portland
Cost: $30 per person or $50 for two people (Breakfast snacks and lunch are provided)
Register: Event page on wmswcd.org

Attendees will learn about soil structure, texture and composition. You’ll also learn about growing crops and gardens using beneficial insects and how to improve your soil through cover crops. One session will focus on organic weed control, the myths and methods. Expert speakers will talk about irrigation and how to make sure you’re watering your plants in the most efficient way as well as the recent movement to replace lawns with low-maintenance native groundcovers and grasses. Finally, we’ll have a session on slugs and snails, which ones you want to get rid of and the most effective way to control them. Continue reading →

Registration is open for the “Growing Farms: Successful Whole Farm Management” course!

Registration is open for the Oregon State University Small Farms Program “Growing Farms: Successful Farm Management” course! This year the course modules are offered online. This is a wonderful series delving into a myriad of topics pertinent to beginning and aspiring farmers, and to those who are considering major changes to their business! Continue reading →

“What does the future hold for your farm?” A free farm succession program

East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD), Clackamas County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWCD) and the Austin Family Business Program at Oregon State University are offering a family farm succession program, entitled “What Does the Future Hold for Your Farm?,” on Tuesday, February 3 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the Milwaukie Center, 5440 SE Kellogg Creek Drive, Milwaukie, OR 97222. There is no cost for the program and light refreshments will be served.

Our infographic on Oregon farmer trends, based on data from the USDA 2012 Census of Agriculture

The average age of farmers in Oregon is now over 59 years (see our infographic) and many family farms are facing a transition between generations, or to someone outside of the family. There are many important issues for farm families to consider when retiring from farming. “Can the current owners afford to retire?” “Do the children in the family want to keep farming?” “How do we transfer the farm’s assets?” These are just some of the important questions and issues that will be addressed. Continue reading →

EMSWCD is seeking an Urban Lands Conservationist

updated November 3rd, 2014
Updated: This position has been filled. Thank you for your interest!

East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District is looking for a Permanent, Full-time employee to serve as our Urban Lands Conservationist.

This position will provide on-site technical assistance in regard to urban land conservation best practices to residential, commercial, industrial, academic, and government landowners and land managers. The goal of the work is to reduce potential loss of natural resources due to soil erosion, water pollution and misuse, habitat degradation, and destructive land development and misuse, among others.

The Johnson Creek Watershed Council is seeking a new Executive Director

The Johnson Creek Watershed Council is seeking a new Executive Director. The Johnson Creek Watershed Council works to protect and restore the Johnson Creek watershed through ecological restoration and monitoring, volunteer stewardship, community outreach and education, and regional land use advocacy.

Learn more about the work the Johnson Creek Watershed Council does and about how to apply here.

Updates from Headwaters

It’s been a great season for the Headwaters Farm Incubator Program; one that has seen both the farm and its farmers grow by leaps and bounds.

This year there were eight farm businesses operating at Headwaters Farm. These businesses range from small scale medicinal herb operations to multi-acre vegetable production for restaurant sales. The diversity being produced onsite is evident in the range of markets where these products are sold. For example, several incubator farms practice Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)—subscription farming directly to the consumer—some of which are even forging a new approach to this model by providing bulk ‘canning shares’ of complementary preservable crops, like dill, pickling cucumbers, and garlic. Still Other farmers go with more traditional routes like selling at farmers markets or to local retail outlets. Continue reading →